NAEB Newsletter (December 12, 1932)

OFFICERS

EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE

President: JOS. F. WRIGHT, WILL

VICE-PRESIDENT: W. I. GRIFFITH, WOI

IOWA STATE ODLLEBE

of

FIRST ZONE: DANIEL E. NOBLE, WCAC

CONNECTICUT AGRICULTURAL CCLLEDE
STORRS, CONNECTICUT

Second Zone: g. R. Faint, WJBU

BUCKNELL UNIVERSITY
LEWISBURB, PENNSYLVANIA

Secretary-Treasurer

B. B. BRACKETT, KUSD

UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH DAKOTA
VERMILLION. SOUTH DAKOTA

Cc>lle.g<a £2y\A Urvivtei^ily
December 12, 1932

THIRD ZONE: GARLAND POWELL, WRUF

UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA
GAINESVILLE, FLORIDA

FOURTH Zone: H. G. INGHAM, KFKU

UNIVERSITY OF KANSAS

Lawrence, Kansas

FIFTH Zone: H. V. CARPENTER, KWSC

STATE COLLEGE OF WASHINGTON
PULLMAN, WASHINGTON

AT LARGE: R. C. HIGGY, WEAO

OHIO STATE UNIVERSITY

SPECIAL BULLETIN

TO MEMBERS
of

THE ASSOCIATION OF COLLEGE AND UNIVERSITY BROADCASTING STATIONS
(and educational officials cooperating with the Association)

Attached you will find comments supplied the office of the
Executive Secretary of your Association by Mr, Joe F f Wright,
Director of Radio Station WILL of the University of Illinois,
and President of the Association of College and University
Broadcasting Stations, The comments attached deal with the
recent meeting of the National Committee on Education by Radio
in Washington, Mr* Wright, as president of our Association,
represents our group in these conferences, I feel that the
entire membership will be glad to read of the developments in
the conference held some ten days ago, and in order to stimulate
further reports of this type I will sincerely appreciate your
dropping a note to Mr. Wright acknowledging receipt of this
bulletin and supplying this office with a carbon copy of your
letter so that we may complete our records.

May I again at this time ask for reports of radio interest from
any of our station managers or directors as your Association is
quite anxious to stimulate the exchange of ideas among the various
groups throughout the United States,

Sincerely yours,

C y, 771

T, M, Beaird,

Executive Secretary

A very comprehensive radio survey made among educational institutions
for the National Committee on Education by Radio, under the direction of the
Committee’s research diroctor. Dr. Tracy Tyler, has been put into manuscript
form. The manuscript was gone over by a committee of the Association of Land
Grant College sand Universities which met in Washington on November 16, and a
similar group representing the National Association of State Universities,
which likewise met in Washington on November 18. These committees have ap¬
proved the manuscript and have expressed a desire to see the survey printed.

At a meeting of the National Committee held in 'Washington on November
18, unanimous approval of -the survey was made and the chairman was authorized
to proceed with the printing. Dr. William John Cooper, Commissioner of Edu¬
cation, has been asked to prepare the preface to the report.

Almost any question one would care to ask about educational broadcasting can
be answered as a result of the survey and it will go down as a very important
historical document in this field. It is evident from a perusal of the report
that out of it will grow the need of further studies along several lines. This
will be brought up at a future meeting of the National Committee,

The National Committee on Education by Radio adopted the following reso¬
lution at its November mooting, which facts were givon to the press the fol¬
lowing day*

(1) In view of the reports recently submitted to Congress in response to
Senate Resolution 129, calling for information regarding certain aspects of
the radio question,

(2) In viow of the facts just presented in the report of the survey of radio
in land-grant colleges and state universities^,

(3) In view of the discussions attending the re-organization of radio broad¬
casting effected in Canada, in 1932, and

(4) In view of questions raised at the International Radio-telegraph Conference
at Madrid,

RESOLVED, that the National Committee on Education by Radio urge upon °ongross
the need of a general investigation at this time of the whole subject of radio
broadcasting by a committee of Congress created for "that purpose.

* * # *

Armstrong Perry, Manager of the Service Bureau of the National Committee,
has been at the Madrid Conference since it opened and is sailing for the United
States, together with Judge Sykes of the Radio Commission, and others of the
delegation, on November 30, Much of the information gathered during the con¬
ference is not for public consumption, but undoubtedly a comprehensive report
will bo forthcoming in the near future and will be placed in the hands of our
Association,

* * * *

The National Association of College Broadcasters has been asked to do a
very important piece of work by tho NCER, the matter of which is confidential
at the present time. The ^resident of -the Association has takon the matter up
with the other officers and the whole work will, of course, be made public after
it has been completed.

■* 2 '

Undoubtedly two or three addresses on the program of the 1933 Radio
Institution at Ohio State University will be based on the findings embodied
in the s urvey of Radio Education which was made by Tracy Tyler of NCER, Al¬
though a date for this meeting has not been set, it will undoubtedly be much
earlier than has been the case heretofore - probably in May - and now is a
good time for all of us to start formulating plans to attend this meeting.
Remember that if you can tfcako homo only one or two good points your time, energy
and md'noy have been well spent,

Carl Menzer of TlilSUI is considering the possibility of constructing a record¬
ing ult which ho has successfully developed after five or six years of experimental
work* Those of us who have heard some of his records feel that they are far
better than anything available on the market. Love ring Tyson, of the National
Advisory Council on Radio in Education, has said that he will attempt to fi¬
nance the construction of this unit if the cost is not too great, A committee
of the Educational Broadcasters Association has been considering for three years
the obtaining of a successful recording unit to be used in a sort of round robin
fashion,- It would bo sent to one institution where eight or ten hours of pro¬
grams - outstanding music and faculty talks - would be recorded, and then the
machine would be dismantled and sent on to the second institution. In this
fashion quite an extensive library of recorded programs would be available for
those stations who cared to used them. Such a plan might prove extremely help¬
ful, especially during the summer months for those stations who find it neces¬
sary to stay on the air during that period*

Carl Menzer has also sent copies of blue prints of such a unit to some of
us with the thought that perhaps each individual station might care to build its
own outfit so that it would always bo available for recording purposes. The
whole matter is still hanging fire but rapidly coming to a head, and we hope to
report some very definite action within the next few weeks,

* * * *

Commissioner Lafount is said to have expressed the opinion recently that
he favors -the increase of power of regional and local stations five fold. Such
a move would bo a big help to a lot of us*

* * * *

Professor Jansky, well known radio engineering authority of Washington,

£>* C,, made a very interesting talk at the St#- Louis meeting of the National
Association of Broadcasters in which he upset the argument which has always
been prevalent in certain circles since the mooting of this organization a year
ago. At tho previous mooting the report of the engineering committee said, in
short, that all frequoncies were about on the same level when it came to broad¬
cast efficiency. Professor Jansky pointed out very clearly that there is a
great difference in frequencies and that -the lower frequencies are far better
than the higher ones. Most any college radio engineer has known for a long
long time that this was the true picture,

* * * *

Tho NAB people discussed at some length the advisability and the possibili*-
ties of appointing a paid president who would act ^s a czar or dictator of the
broadcasting Industry, No agreement was reached but it is a safe bet that this
move will be made as soon as tho industry can see its way clear to finance it.